Stolen Moments
by Dawnstorm101
Summary: Sam is Colonel O'Neill's subordinate - she knows she can't have a romantic relationship with him. But the simple fact is they both want to. While they can both hide it mostly, there are certain times - like now, trapped in a cave with a badly injured Daniel and Jack's unbidden memories surfacing - that they just can't hold in their hearts.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's about dang time I actually wrote and posted something for this fandom, especially this ship, seeing as Sam/Jack is the OTP to rule all OTPs. And seeing as Daniel and Jack are one of my favorite brOTPs, I maybe made their bit the most self-indulgent bit of fluff I've ever written. And then I got angsty with Sam and Jack. Fun times, eh?

* * *

Trying to sleep on the cold stone floor, her head pillowed on her arm, was nearly impossible. Then again, Sam wasn't really trying, despite the order given by the colonel – there was too much to worry over. Daniel lay on Jack's other side, swamped with fever from the infected gash in his broken leg, wrapped in a compression bandage. She wanted nothing more than to get him back to the SGC and its infirmary full of medicine, but that was impossible – they were trapped.

SG-1 – minus Teal'c, who was on a different world aiding Rya'c and Bra'tac – were on a mission to P4X-396, a planet where the Stargate was underground. It sat in the middle of an extensive cave system, which they'd been exploring – right up to the cave-in, anyway. Daniel had been closest to it, inspecting some ancient text while the others snacked by the dead-end wall. It had taken a couple endless hours of Daniel in agony and slipping in and out of consciousness to free his leg without sending the new wall of rocks crashing down on all of their heads.

Then, after tending to Daniel's injuries and tucking him against a wall with a vest as a pillow and the others' jackets draped over him, the healthy two had tried to radio for help and clear the wall. Unfortunately, the radios only screamed static, and the second they made any significant progress, the wall would start to destabilize, forcing them to hastily undo what they'd done.

"Damn it," Jack had hissed, glancing from Daniel to the wall. "Damn it, damn it, _damn it._ "

Sam checked her watch. "We're due back in three hours, sir. When we don't check in, they'll come looking for us."

Jack scrubbed his hands over his face. "There are six tunnels out of the Stargate chamber alone, Carter. It'll take hours for them to find this place, and who's to say if they'll realize this wall is new?"

Sam knew the question he wasn't voicing, the question he _couldn't_ voice, because the same one weighed on her mind far more heavily than if they would recognize new rockfall. The only answer she had was to grab his hands and squeeze, saying "They'll get here."

They'd looked at each other for a silent moment then, drawing strength from the quiet moment. Then they'd realized what they were doing, that they were beginning to lean towards each other, and quickly broken apart.

Sam lay beside him now, ten hours later in a cave lit only by a green glow stick, and they were still waiting. She had wanted to stay awake, listening for the search teams and helping Daniel, but Jack had ordered her to rest, insisting that she'd be more helpful with some sleep under her belt. It was a logical argument paired with an order, so she had lain down atop her vest and tried to sleep.

That was an hour ago. An hour of listening to Jack fidgeting and Daniel's breaths slowly growing rougher.

"No!"

Sam started at Daniel's shout, wanting to help, but Jack moved quickly. He leaned over, resting one hand on Daniel's arm and running the other through his hair. "Hush, Daniel," he soothed, his voice low and soft in a way he would never let it be if he knew Sam were awake and Daniel would remember.

Daniel's voice was a whimper, punctuated by gasps of pain as he writhed. "Sh-sha're…"

Sam winced. Of course his fever-addled mind would make this situation even more painful for him.

Jack moved his hand to Daniel's leg, stilling it as gently and carefully as possible. "Shh. If you go to sleep, you can see Sha're."

"P-promise?" Daniel mumbled hopefully.

It was the faintest of hesitations, something Daniel certainly wouldn't notice, but Sam saw Jack duck his head. "Yeah, buddy. I promise."

Sam loosed a silent sigh of relief as Daniel quieted, his gasps fading as he stilled. Jack slowly released his leg, reaching for a water bottle and dribbling a few drops into Daniel's mouth. He swallowed instinctively and didn't wake, so Jack carefully leaned back, pulling his hand from Daniel's hair. Immediately, Daniel started to shift again.

Jack reached out again, but it didn't work completely, so he apparently decided to add a song. "Rock-a-bye Danny, on the cave floor… When the rocks fall, your leg will break…"

Sam bit her lips shut to smother a laugh, letting the singing continue. It was off-key, but surprisingly good. He improved as the song went on, falling into the rhythm as even he seemed to forget his surroundings. He even slipped into the normal lyrics, his voice growing slower and softer, until Sam realized he wasn't thinking about Daniel anymore.

"I know you're awake, Carter," he eventually murmured, his face still turned to Daniel.

For a moment, Sam considered continuing pretending. But if Jack was acknowledging her after such a moment, when he could've remained silent and known she never would've spoken of it for fear of revealing the secret, then he must need companionship. So she sat up. "Sorry, sir."

He waved it off with the hand not still resting in Daniel's hair. "I didn't really think you would sleep, but closing your eyes is better than nothing."

Sam nodded, raising one knee and linking her hands over it. "Sir, the song… did you…?"

Jack hunched forward, resting his face on his hand. "Yeah," he admitted, a faint sob evident in the pause before he continued. "Always worked like a charm on Charlie."

She shifted her gaze away from his voice, looking at where his fingers still toyed with Daniel's hair. "That too?"

"Yup," he sighed.

Sam decided to shift the conversation a bit, give Jack room to breathe. "Do you think Daniel and Sha're would've had a family?"

"Oh yeah," Jack answered instantly. "Those two would've been great parents of sweet little nerd babies."

Sam chuckled, picturing the happy family. "Daniel would've had a blast teaching them to love history."

"Yup," Jack agreed, his voice softening again. "Always fun, teaching the little buggers about what you love."

"Would you ever…" _Nope, rephrase that._ "Have you ever considered having more?"

"Before Charlie? Nah," Jack answered. "Didn't wanna mess with perfection."

"What about… after?"

Jack was silent for a moment. "Not… at first. I couldn't imagine living every day with that terror hanging over my head. I mean, it was there before, but having gone through it… I couldn't handle the thought. But… a few years ago, a few people came into my life. There's this nerd who's got too much heart for his own good, and an alien who tends to save his voice for the important stuff. And… there's a girl. She talks a lot, says a lot I have no hope of understanding, but she makes the galaxy a better place just by existing. I don't even know if she'd want a kid. But these three people… they make the risk seem worth it. More than worth it. I don't know if I've ever wanted anything more than a kid raised by this weird group of people."

He stopped talking with an awkward cough, rubbing his hand over his eyes. Sam felt tears in her own, tears for what could never be. Not if things stayed the way they were, and she couldn't imagine a life with a different leader of SG-1. Part of her didn't want to. But another part…

Another part stopped imaging Daniel and Sha're on Abydos with half-Egyptian kids. Part of her changed the scenery to Jack's lakeside cabin, with Sam standing on the porch sipping coffee while Jack stood on the dock teaching a brunette little girl how to fish. There was a blonde boy sitting in the grass with Daniel, the duo poring over a book about Ancient Egypt. A car rattled up the driveway – Teal'c, with pizza, doughnuts, and _Star Wars_ sitting in the shotgun seat.

Sam closed her eyes and scooted to Jack's side, laying her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his free arm around her and held her tight. "For what it's worth," she whispered, "I don't think the girl would mind having that kid."

She felt the lightest of kisses brush her temple, and she smiled through her tears. He opened his mouth, took a breath to speak, and then-

"Colonel O'Neill? Are you in there?"

Jack cleared his throat and called back, "Yeah! What the hell took you so long?"

"Sorry, sir, we got a bit turned around. Are you three all right?"

"Daniel's hurt bad, so hurry up and get that wall down," Jack snapped roughly. The people on the outside probably chocked it up to Daniel's status, and they weren't entirely wrong, but Sam knew the real reason for his gruffness. It was hard not to, as she was moving away from him and roughly scraping the tears from her face, trying to pretend she hadn't been crying.

As they prepared to leave, she and Jack paused, sharing another silent look that said a million things they never could.

 _Stolen moments,_ she thought, _are all we'll ever have together._

* * *

A/N: So I know that the whole premise of this thing is the stolen moments bit, but that lakeshore tidbit got me thinking and... would anyone want me to post the short (happy) epilogue I wrote, complete with appearances by Vala and Cam?

Also, a good song to go with this fic is Secret Love Song by Little Mix (both parts, but especially part one as it's got a male singer too), if you're interested.


	2. Epilogue

A/N: A lot more people answered my question than I thought would answer it, so here's the epilogue! It's not like the first chapter at all, it's just something happy and fluffy I wrote cause I really, _really_ wish Sam and Jack had actually canonically gotten together and I made myself sad writing the first chapter. And sorry if Vala and Cam are a little OOC, it's been a while since I watched their seasons (I'm binging SG-1 now, but I'm still on season 8. So close.).

* * *

The next few years took things from them. They stole Sam's dad. They stole Jack from SG-1, stranding him at the SGC when things went wrong off-world. They even stole Jack from the SGC, but that was partially his choice so he and Sam could finally be _together._ And then they stole Sam from Earth, sending her to a whole different galaxy.

But when she returned?

Time finally, finally blessed them. That child they had admitted to wanting all those years ago in a dark cave, finally came to fruition – with a twin. Daniel and Teal'c were the first visitors, still scuffed from off-world trouble, but beaming as their gaze fell upon their friends cradling the precious bundles.

"What are you going to name them?" Daniel asked, putting his balloons in the corner before approaching the couple.

"Well," Sam began, offering him the little girl in her arms, "I was thinking… would Sha're be ok?"

Daniel took her into his arms, a different kind of smile spreading across his face as memories swam in his eyes. "I think it's perfect."

"And this little one is Jacob," Jack announced, smiling softly at Sam.

Teal'c dipped his head. "Worthy names for worthy children."

"Glad you approve, T," Jack half-joked.

Cam and Vala jogged in then, their own gazes lighting up as they saw the little family. Vala went to Daniel's side, cooing at the newborn in his arms. Daniel explained her name in a whisper, and Vala wrapped them both in a hug.

Sam cleared her throat. "I hope you two remember whose baby she actually is."

"Ah, yes, of course," Daniel mumbled, quickly handing her back to Sam.

Cam, Teal'c, and Jack were having a far less romantic moment, but as they admired the newborn boy, Sam had never seen them look softer or more in love – especially Jack. He swayed gently, rocking Jacob to sleep, humming the same lullaby he'd sang at the cave - something Daniel still didn't know about.

"Daniel, Vala," he broached.

They both looked at him. "Yes?"

"If you were the godparents, you could steal Sha're on a regular basis."

Daniel and Vala grinned, joining their hands. "We'd love to," they answered in unison.

"Aw, cute," Cam teased. Even Teal'c laughed as the newer couple flushed and stammered in response.

And years later, that lakeside scene Sam had once hardly dared imagine came true. It wasn't exactly the same – Cam stood with Jack and Sha're on that dock, while Vala sat with Daniel and Jacob, with their own toddler George on her lap and slapping at the book's pages. Teal'c was still the only one who thought to bring food, though.

Different though it might be, it was the most perfect scene Sam could ever imagine.

* * *

A/N: So, yeah, that was a self-indulgent piece of fluff...

Someone suggested I make this fic a series of one-shots about stolen moments, and I think I might just do that if any more ideas come to me. If I do add more chapters, I think I'll just push this epilogue to the back so as not to break the flow of mutual pining.


End file.
